Mortgage interest rates rise, but still at historic lows

Mortgage interest rates increased this week for both 15- and 30-year fixed rate loans, but they still remained near historic lows, Freddie Mac reported Thursday.

The average 30-year fixed rate rose to 3.71 percent, up from last week's 3.67 percent. That broke six weeks of rates falling to new historic lows, Freddie Mac reported. The 30-year fixed rate loan has remained below 4 percent since December, with the exception of one week, according to Freddie Mac. Last year at this time, the average rate was at 4.5 percent.

Interest rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages also moved up this week, from last week's 2.94 percent to currently 2.98 percent, Freddie Mac said. Last year at this time the average rate was at 3.67 percent.